Panthers’ Jack Studnicka Clears Waivers
Jan. 20th: As expected, Studnicka has made it through waivers unscathed per Friedman. The Panthers are expected to assign Studnicka to AHL Charlotte at some point today.
Jan. 19th: Now that Matthew Tkachuk is back in action for the Florida Panthers, the team was likely to clear a forward from their active roster. They have done just that, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they’ve placed Jack Studnicka on waivers.
Studnicka, 26, has been on the Panthers roster since December 1st. He’s been in an extremely isolated role since, going scoreless in 18 games with a -6 rating, averaging 7:04 of ice time. Furthermore, given his 46.3% CorsiFor% and 85.2% on-ice SV% at even strength, Studnicka provided little to no value to Florida’s lineup even when he was playing.
Still, there wasn’t much indication that the Panthers needed much more from Studnicka, anyway. He signed a one-year, league minimum deal with the organization last summer, meaning it was always likely he would exclusively serve as an injury replacement. Given how many injuries the Panthers have dealt with this year, Studnicka got a longer stay on the NHL roster than he may have expected.
Despite offering little production at the NHL level, the same can’t be said for his play in the AHL. Last season, while playing for the AHL’s Ontario Reign, Studnicka scored 16 goals and totaled 45 points in 72 games, finishing with a +4 rating. Before being recalled by the Panthers this year, he scored one goal and six points in eight games for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Panthers Activate Matthew Tkachuk, Place Seth Jones On LTIR
3 PM: The Panthers have made the roster moves to facilitate Tkachuk’s return. The star winger has been activated off of long-term injured reserve while defenseman Seth Jones has been placed on LTIR retroactive to his last game on January 2nd per PuckPedia. The move to LTIR will force Jones to miss at least one more week of action – as he won’t reach the 24-day minimum required by LTIR until January 26th. That means Jones will have to sit out of Florida’s next three games and hope for a return when the Panthers host the Utah Mammoth on January 27th.
9 AM: Star winger Matthew Tkachuk will be back in the lineup tonight, he told reporters this morning (including Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ website). Tkachuk is on long-term injured reserve, meaning Florida’s demotion of Noah Gregor today to open up a roster spot won’t be enough. Florida has just over $1MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, but needs to up that number to nearly $3.82MM to activate Tkachuk.
Nonetheless, all signs point toward the 28-year-old making his season debut at home this evening against the Sharks. His injury troubles date back to last February, when he tore an adductor muscle while playing for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He ended up missing the balance of the regular season to recover as much as possible without needing season-ending surgery. That permitted him to suit up in all 23 playoff games as Florida marched to the second of back-to-back Stanley Cups, still producing at a point-per-game rate and leading the league with five power play postseason goals despite being nowhere close to 100%.
Understandably, playing through the injury aggravated it. Tkachuk spent most of the offseason mulling his options before finally electing to undergo a wide-ranging surgery on the area in early August. There was a wide-spanning return timeline that was expected to see him make his 2025-26 debut around New Year’s Day, ideally in time for Florida’s hosting of the Winter Classic, but he ended up blowing through that target by a few weeks.
All that matters to the Cats is that he’s back now, especially with captain Aleksander Barkov likely lost for the regular season and top offensive threat Brad Marchand currently sidelined. He’s set to have his minutes limited in his return, taking third-line rushes this morning with Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich, per Steve Goldstein of Scripps Sports. Historically, that hasn’t been an issue for him. In Game 1 of last year’s first-round win over the Lightning, his first appearance in over two months, he logged just 11:43 of ice time but was still good for a three-point game.
Tkachuk has been practicing for several weeks now, though. His return is far from rushed, so the diminished even-strength role from the hop likely has more to do with his game conditioning rather than his health being anything less than 100%. The 2023 Hart Trophy finalist now looks to extend his streak of four consecutive seasons above a point per game, with 35 games left on Florida’s schedule to do so.
Since the Panthers acquired Tkachuk from the Flames in the 2022 offseason’s blockbuster deal, he’s been the most productive Florida player on a per-game basis by a significant margin at 1.20 points/GP. That’s good for 10th in the league during that time – more than names like Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, and Auston Matthews – and has even exceeded Pavel Bure as the Panthers’ all-time points-per-game leader, at least for now.
With Barkov and Tkachuk out all year to date, the Panthers have had to reach deep into their forward depth. That’s resulted in their offense, which has finished in the top half of the league every year since 2017-18, dipping to a 3.04 goals per game output that ranks 19th out of 32 teams and last in the competitive Atlantic Division. With Florida trailing the Sabres by four points for the last wild card spot with no games in hand, they need more firepower – now – to ensure they don’t miss the postseason cutoff following three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
As for Florida’s salary cap problem, they have an easy short-term solution in moving defenseman Seth Jones from standard IR to LTIR to clear up the necessary space for Tkachuk’s activation. They can add $3.82MM of his $7MM cap hit to their LTIR pool by doing so, since he’s already missed seven games and 17 days – three and seven short of the LTIR minimums, respectively. Having the space to then activate Jones when he’s expected to return early next month remains a problem, though.
Panthers Reassign Noah Gregor
The Panthers announced this morning that they reassigned forward Noah Gregor to AHL Charlotte. They’re now left with an open roster spot, which could be earmarked for Brad Marchand to come off injured reserve or for Matthew Tkachuk to come off long-term injured reserve, although the latter move would require clearing more cap space.
Gregor, 27, departs Florida after appearing just twice in the Cats’ last 11 games. He was placed on waivers over a week ago and cleared, but wasn’t immediately sent to Charlotte. Since he’s still within a 30-day window from clearing waivers, he can be sent down today without needing to go through the process again.
The Alberta native is in his seventh NHL season and has accumulated over 300 games of experience. However, after a tumultuous couple of campaigns, it appears he’s on the path toward being more of a call-up option than a bottom-six fixture. The 6’0″, 201-lb winger’s high-end speed and skating have always carried some intrigue, but he’s rarely converted it into meaningful production, only topping the 20-point mark once with the Sharks back in 2021-22.
Now, Florida is his fourth stop in the past three seasons. He’s also logged time with the Maple Leafs and Senators since 2023 and had a second stint in San Jose, needing PTOs to land contracts late in the offseason twice during that span. His waiver placement earlier this month was the first one of his career, signaling a more formative end to his days as a bottom-six/press box lock.
In 24 games this season, Gregor has scored once and added only two assists while averaging 8:05 of ice time per game. He is averaging a career-low 1.13 hits per game and has been a significant drag on Florida’s possession game, controlling 46.0% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting nearly 60% of his shifts in the offensive end. It was abundantly clear he would be the next odd man out when the Cats needed a roster spot.
Florida Panthers To Activate Cole Schwindt
The Florida Panthers will return a depth forward to their lineup tonight. According to rinkside reporter Katie Engleson, forward Cole Schwindt will be in the lineup for the Panthers tonight, confirming he’ll be activated from the team’s injured reserve.
Now in his second stint in Florida, the 24-year-old hasn’t played for the team in two months due to a broken arm suffered against the Vancouver Canucks on November 17th. Before the injury, Schwindt had scored two goals while averaging 8:38 of action per game.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Panthers make room for Schwindt on the active roster. The easiest option would be to reassign rookie Sandis Vilmanis, who is one of the few waiver-exempt players on the roster. Still, the team could demote little-used forward Noah Gregor, who cleared waivers last Saturday but remained with the team.
Regardless, it’s a positive step in the right direction for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Florida has dealt with numerous injuries this season, which has hindered their ability to jockey for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference.
Still, even outside of returning Schwindt to the lineup, the team is close to returning Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk, as well. Leading up to the trade deadline, and as they get closer to a completely healthy roster, the Panthers will be a dangerous team as they look to defend their crown.
Panthers Sign Uvis Balinskis To Two-Year Extension
According to an announcement from his agent, Dan Milstein, defenseman Uvis Balinskis has agreed to a two-year extension with the Florida Panthers. TSN’s Chris Johnston added that it’ll be a two-year, $1.75MM ($875K AAV) deal.
Balinskis, 29, didn’t have a straightforward path to the NHL. The Latvian spent multiple years in the European professional circuit, primarily in the KHL and Extraliga. He began garnering NHL interest throughout his last two years overseas, scoring 20 goals and 58 points in 92 games split between Czechia’s HC Litvínov and Bílí Tygři Liberec.
The Panthers ultimately landed Balinskis toward the end of the 2022-23 campaign, with his one-year, $840K contract beginning in the 2023-24 season. Throughout his first year with the club, Balinskis scored one goal and three points in 26 games with Florida. Additionally, he tallied three goals and 21 points in 37 games for their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
Needing defensive depth and being encouraged by his performance in the AHL, the Panthers signed Balinskis to a two-year, $1.7MM extension almost as soon as he became eligible. It proved to be a wise investment, as Balinskis finished fifth on the team in scoring among defensemen with four goals and 18 points in 76 games. His defensive metrics were solid as well, finishing with a 90.4% on-ice SV% at even strength, and an expected +/- of 12.0.
Suffering a handful of injuries this season, Florida has again deployed Balinskis fairly regularly, sometimes in a top-four role. His scoring has dissipated somewhat, though he’s second amongst defenseman in oiSV% behind Niko Mikkola.
A pending unrestricted free agent once again, Balinskis didn’t appear headed for a large payday this summer. Still, it was a no-brainer for the Panthers, who retain a familiar option for a mere $25K bump in salary.
Marchand, Tkachuk Out Tonight For Panthers
Even before going down with an upper-body injury in mid-November, Stolarz didn’t look the same as he has in years past. He posted a 6-5-1 record in 13 games with a .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA. For comparison, with the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, Stolarz managed a 37-15-5 record in 61 games with a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA from 2023-24 to 2024-25.
- The Florida Panthers are missing a pair of potential forward options for their game tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Before the game, team reporter Jameson Olive announced that Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk would not participate in tonight’s contest. Tonight marks two games in a row missed by Marchand, who participated in the team’s practice this morning (X Link). Tkachuk has been rumored to return for the last little while now, recovering from an adductor surgery from the offseason.
Noah Gregor Clears Waivers
Saturday: Gregor was not claimed on waivers according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He can now be sent down to AHL Charlotte whenever a roster spot is needed to activate Tkachuk.
Friday: The Panthers are shaking up their depth forward group after a tough-to-swallow blowout loss. PuckPedia reports that the club has placed winger Noah Gregor on waivers.
Gregor had appeared in back-to-back games for the Cats after sitting out five straight. Florida’s fourth line of him, Luke Kunin, and Jack Studnicka had a garish showing in the 6-2 loss to Montreal, failing to generate any expected goals at 5-on-5 while getting outscored 2-0 in less than five minutes of ice time.
His waiver placement should serve a dual purpose of opening a roster spot for Matthew Tkachuk, who’s been skating for a few days now and should be ready to come off long-term injured reserve and make his season debut in the near future. That’s must-hear news for a Florida squad that’s now 3-5-1 in its last nine, losing ground in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Injuries have taken an incredible toll on their record, which now stands at 22-18-3, leaving the two-time defending champs three points out of a playoff spot.
As for Gregor, the 27-year-old could bounce to his fifth NHL organization if he’s claimed off the wire. Non-tendered by the Sharks last year, he went unsigned before landing a professional tryout with the Cats in September and converting that into a two-way deal at the end of training camp. He’s been in and out of the lineup as a 12th/13th forward option with Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Tomas Nosek, and more missing all or most of the year.
In 24 appearances, the high-motor depth option has one goal and two assists with a -7 rating. He’s averaged just 8:05 per night while posting an ugly 45.8% shot attempt share despite receiving sheltered offensive zone starts. Especially seeing as he’s on a two-way deal, he was always going to be one of the first names to hit waivers if Florida needed a roster spot.
For a league-minimum price tag, there might be some interest in Gregor, who has 73 points in 317 career NHL games dating back to his debut in San Jose in 2019-20.
Panthers Recall Sandis Vilmanis, Place Seth Jones On IR
The Panthers have made a pair of roster moves heading into their game tonight against Ottawa. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Sandis Vilmanis from AHL Charlotte. To make room on the roster, defenseman Seth Jones has been placed on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s Media Site.
This is Vilmanis’ first recall to the NHL. The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Florida back in 2022, going 157th overall. He made the move to play junior hockey in the OHL the following season, spending two years there where he averaged just under a point per game with 58 goals and 54 assists in 122 regular season contests while adding 34 points in 30 playoff appearances.
That was enough for the Panthers to sign Vilmanis to a three-year, entry-level deal, one that he’s basically at the midpoint of. He has played in 31 games for the Checkers so far this season, posting eight goals and 11 assists, putting him on pace to beat the 27 points he had last season in his rookie campaign. His first half also earned him a spot on Latvia’s roster for the Olympics next month.
As for Jones, the move to IR is largely procedural. Earlier this week, he was listed as out week-to-week after sustaining an upper-body injury during the Winter Classic. At this point, his availability for the Olympics remains uncertain.
Florida remains at the maximum roster size of 23 which is noteworthy with Matthew Tkachuk (LTIR) believed to be nearing a return. (That won’t be tonight though, as he has been ruled out against the Sens.) However, yesterday’s waiver placement of Noah Gregor on waivers will soon open up the spot for Tkachuk, meaning that Vilmanis’ recall shouldn’t be affected by Tkachuk’s pending return to the lineup.
Anton Lundell Fined For High-Sticking
- The NHL’s Department of Player Safety is involved in last night’s game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens. They have fined Panthers forward Anton Lundell $5,000, the maximum allowable under the current CBA, for high-sticking Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier. Lundell was originally given a double-minor on the play.
[SOURCE LINK]
Marchand: Would Have Been Between Florida And Toronto Had He Tested Free Agency
Speaking with reporters this morning including Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link), Panthers winger Brad Marchand stated that had he not re-signed with Florida before free agency started, the Maple Leafs were the other team he was considering signing with. Johnston went on to add in a piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that Toronto is believed to have passed up on a chance to acquire someone in June to ensure they’d have the cap space to try to sign the 37-year-old. While there was an expectation that Florida couldn’t afford to keep him, he ultimately re-signed on a six-year, $31.5MM pact. Marchand, who exited tonight’s game in Toronto early, had a very strong first half of the season, picking up 23 goals and 23 assists in 40 games, putting him on pace for more than 90 points, a mark he has only reached once.